Cooling seat cushion

ABSTRACT

A seat cushion has cooling flow passages that are provided in a substantially parallel and planar manner. Air at a temperature lower than the body temperature is blown through the cooling flow passages substantially parallelly to the body surface of a person sitting on the cushion. As a result, the temperature gradient near the body surface is increased so as to release heat from the body, resulting in a feeling of coolness.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This is a division of application No. 09/830,411, filed Apr. 27, 2001.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to cooling bedclothes, cooling seatcushions, cooling mats, cooling chairs, cooling clothing and coolingshoes, for causing ambient air to flow parallel to and in the vicinityof the body surface thereby to cool the same.

BACKGROUND ART

As bedclothes for cooling a body such as on a sleepless summer night,devices for directly cooling the body have been proposed such as bycausing cooled air to flow into a futon and/or pillow. It has been alsoproposed to directly blow the thus cooled air onto the body such as fromsmall holes provided on a futon and/or pillow.

However, obtaining cooled air requires a separate device therefor,thereby increasing cost. Further, the method to directly blow the cooledair onto the body has a higher cooling effect, but may increase the riskof damage to health.

DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION

The present invention has been carried out in view of such a technicalbackground, and it is therefore an object of the present invention toprovide cooling bedclothes, cooling seat cushions, cooling mats, coolingchairs, cooling clothing and cooling shoes, which provide a sufficientcooling effect with a simple structure and without health damage.

To achieve the above object, the first invention resides in a coolingunderlying futon comprising: cooling flow passages formed in asubstantially parallel and planar manner adjacent to that portion of thefuton on an elastic member, which contacts a body of a person; an inletfor drawing air into the cooling flow passages; an outlet fordischarging the air from the cooling flow passages; at least oneelectromotive fan provided at at least one of the inlet and outlet; anda flow connecting passage provided between the electromotive fan and thecooling flow passages; whereby the ambient air at a temperature lowerthan the body temperature is caused by the electromotive fan to flowthrough the cooling flow passages substantially parallel to the bodysurface so as to increase the temperature gradient between the body andthe cooling flow passages in order to release the heat emitted from thebody to thereby cool the body; and wherein the cooling flow passages areformed from a spacer and a sheet-like material, the sheet-like materialbeing arranged between the spacer and the body and having a thickness of5 mm or less; and the spacer is formed from a common member and aplurality of physically contiguous subspacers formed on the commonmember integrally with the same, the subspacers being configured suchthat the cooling flow passages have a thickness of 3 mm or more.

To achieve the above object, the second invention resides in a coolingseat cushion usable on a seat portion, the cooling seat cushioncomprising: cooling flow passages formed in a substantially parallel andplanar manner adjacent to that portion of the cooling seat cushion,which contacts a body of a person; an inlet for drawing air into thecooling flow passages; an outlet for discharging the air from thecooling flow passages; at least one electromotive fan provided at atleast one of the inlet and outlet; a battery for energizing theelectromotive fan; and a flow connecting passage provided between theelectromotive fan and the cooling flow passages; whereby the ambient airat a temperature lower than the body temperature is caused by theelectromotive fan to flow through the cooling flow passagessubstantially parallel to the body surface so as to increase thetemperature gradient between the body and the cooling flow passages inorder to release the heat emitted from the body to thereby cool thebody; and wherein the cooling flow passages are formed from a spacer anda sheet-like material, the sheet-like material being arranged betweenthe spacer and the body and having a thickness of 5 mm or less; and thespacer is formed from a common member and a plurality of physicallycontiguous subspacers formed on the common member integrally with thesame, the subspacers being configured such that the cooling flowpassages have a thickness of 2 mm or more.

To achieve the above object, the third invention resides in a coolingmat comprising: cooling flow passages formed in a substantially paralleland planar manner adjacent to that portion of the cooling mat, whichcontacts a body of a person; an inlet for drawing air into the coolingflow passages; an outlet for discharging the air from the cooling flowpassages; at least one electromotive fan provided at at least one of theinlet and outlet; and a flow connecting passage provided between theelectromotive fan and the cooling flow passages; whereby the ambient airat a temperature lower than the body temperature is caused by theelectromotive fan to flow through the cooling flow passagessubstantially parallel to the body surface so as to increase thetemperature gradient between the body and the cooling flow passages inorder to release the heat emitted from the body to thereby cool thebody; and wherein the cooling flow passages are formed from a spacer anda sheet-like material, the sheet-like material being arranged betweenthe spacer and the body and having a thickness of 5 mm or less; and thespacer is formed from a common member and a plurality of physicallycontiguous subspacers formed on the common member integrally with thesame, the subspacers being configured such that the cooling flowpassages have a thickness of 2 mm or more.

To achieve the above object, the fourth invention resides in a coolingchair comprising: cooling flow passages formed in a substantiallyparallel and planar manner adjacent to that portion of a seat portion ofthe cooling chair, which contacts a body of a person; an inlet fordrawing air into the cooling flow passages; an outlet for dischargingthe air from the cooling flow passages; at least one electromotive fanprovided at at least one of the inlet and outlet; and a flow connectingpassage provided between the electromotive fan and the cooling flowpassages; whereby the ambient air at a temperature lower than the bodytemperature is caused by the electromotive fan to flow through thecooling flow passages substantially parallel to the body surface so asto increase the temperature gradient between the body and the coolingflow passages in order to release the heat emitted from the body tothereby cool the body; and wherein the cooling flow passages are formedfrom a spacer and a sheet-like material, the sheet-like material beingarranged between the spacer and the body and having a thickness of 5 mmor less; and the spacer is formed from a common member and a pluralityof physically contiguous subspacers formed on the common memberintegrally with the same, the subspacers being configured such that thecooling flow passages have a thickness of 2 mm or more.

To achieve the above object, the fifth invention resides in a piece ofcooling clothing comprising: a plurality of mutually independent coolingflow passages formed in a substantially parallel and planar manneradjacent to that portion of the cooling clothing, which contacts a bodyof a person; an elastic material for connecting the plurality of coolingflow passage; an inlet for drawing air into the cooling flow passages;an outlet for discharging the air from the cooling flow passages; atleast one electromotive fan provided at at least one of the inlet andoutlet; and a battery for energizing the electromotive fan; whereby theambient air at a temperature lower than the body temperature is causedby the electromotive fan to flow through the cooling flow passagessubstantially parallel to the body surface so as to increase thetemperature gradient between the body and the cooling flow passages inorder to release the heat emitted from the body to thereby cool thebody; and wherein the cooling flow passages are formed from a spacer anda sheet-like material, the sheet-like material being arranged betweenthe spacer and the body and having a thickness of 5 mm or less; and thespacer is formed from a common member and a plurality of physicallycontiguous subspacers formed on the common member integrally with thesame, the subspacers being configured such that the cooling flowpassages have a thickness of 2 mm or more.

To achieve the above object, the sixth invention resides in a coolingshoe comprising: cooling flow passages formed in a substantiallyparallel and planar manner adjacent to that portion of the cooling shoe,which contacts a foot sole of a person; an inlet for drawing air intothe cooling flow passages; an outlet for discharging the air from thecooling flow passages; an electromotive fan provided at one of the inletand outlet; a battery for energizing the electromotive fan; and a flowconnecting passage provided between the electromotive fan and thecooling flow passages; whereby the ambient air at a temperature lowerthan the body temperature is caused by the electromotive fan to flowthrough the cooling flow passages substantially parallel to the footsole so as to increase the temperature gradient between the foot soleand the cooling flow passages in order to release the heat emitted fromthe foot sole to thereby cool the foot sole; and wherein the coolingflow passages are formed from a spacer and a sheet-like material, thesheet-like material being arranged between the spacer and the body andhaving a thickness of 5 mm or less; and the spacer is formed from acommon member and a plurality of physically contiguous subspacers formedon the common member integrally with the same, the subspacers beingconfigured such that the cooling flow passages have a thickness of 2 mmor more.

To achieve the above object, the seventh invention resides in a coolingcovering futon comprising: cooling flow passages formed in asubstantially parallel and planar manner adjacent to that portion of thecooling covering futon, which contacts a body of a person; an inlet fordrawing air into the cooling flow passages; an outlet for dischargingthe air from the cooling flow passages; at least one electromotive fanprovided at at least one of the inlet and outlet; and a flow connectingpassage provided between the electromotive fan and the cooling flowpassages; whereby the ambient air at a temperature lower than the bodytemperature is caused by the electromotive fan to flow through thecooling flow passages substantially parallel to the body surface so asto increase the temperature gradient between the body and the coolingflow passages in order to release the heat emitted from the body tothereby cool the body, and wherein the cooling flow passages are formedfrom a spacer and a sheet-like material, the sheet-like material beingarranged between the spacer and the body and having a thickness of 10 mmor less; and the spacer is formed from a common member and a pluralityof physically contiguous subspacers formed on the common memberintegrally with the same, the subspacers being configured such that thecooling flow passages have a thickness of 3 mm or more.

To achieve the above object, the eighth invention resides in a coolingpillow comprising: cooling flow passages formed in a substantiallyparallel and planar manner adjacent to that portion of the coolingpillow, which contacts a head of a person; a cushioning member forcarrying the cooling flow passage thereon; an inlet for drawing air intothe cooling flow passages; an outlet for discharging the air from thecooling flow passages; at least one electromotive fan provided at atleast one of the inlet and outlet; soundproof means provided for theelectromotive fan; and a flow connecting passage provided between theelectromotive fan and the cooling flow passages; whereby the ambient airat a temperature lower than the body temperature is caused by theelectromotive fan to flow through the cooling flow passagessubstantially parallel to the head surface so as to increase thetemperature gradient between the head and the cooling flow passages inorder to release the heat emitted from the head to thereby cool thehead; and wherein the cooling flow passages are formed from a spacer anda sheet-like material, the sheet-like material being arranged betweenthe spacer and the body and having a thickness of 5 mm or less; and thespacer is formed from a common member and a plurality of physicallycontiguous subspacers formed on the common member integrally with thesame, the subspacers being configured such that the cooling flowpassages have a thickness of 2 mm or more.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIGS. 1A, 1B, and 1C are explanatory views of a cooling effect of thepresent invention;

FIG. 2 is a view showing a state where cooling flow passages are formedin the vicinity of a body surface;

FIG. 3 is a graph showing a result of a preliminary experiment fortesting the relationship between the interspace and pressure in the flowpassages while fixing the flow rate of air;

FIGS. 4A1-4F2 are views showing various spacers;

FIGS. 5A1-5D2 are views showing various configurations of flowconnecting passages;

FIG. 6 is a graph showing characteristics of a certain electromotivefan;

FIGS. 7A and 7B are views showing an underlying futon according to afirst embodiment of the present invention applied to cooling bedclothes;

FIGS. 8A and 8B are views showing a chair seat cushion according to asecond embodiment of the present invention applied to a cooling seatcushion;

FIG. 9 is a view showing a state where the chair seat cushion is placedon a chair;

FIGS. 10A and 10B are views showing a mat such as usable on a sofa orfloor according to a third embodiment of the present invention appliedto a cooling mat;

FIG. 11 is a view showing which portion of a body is cooled by the matof the third embodiment;

FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view of a chair according to a fourthembodiment of the present invention applied to a cooling chair,

FIG. 13 is a rear view of the cooling chair of the fourth embodiment;

FIG. 14 is a perspective view of a piece of clothing in a worn stateaccording to a fifth embodiment of the present invention applied tocooling clothing;

FIG. 15 is a cross-sectional view of one of a pair of shoes according toa sixth embodiment of the present invention applied to cooling shoes;

FIG. 16 is a plan view of a covering futon according to a seventhembodiment of the present invention applied to cooling bedclothes;

FIG. 17 is a view showing a structure of a spacer of the seventhembodiment;

FIG. 18A and 18B are views showing a pillow according to an eighthembodiment of the present invention applied to cooling bedclothes; and

FIGS. 19A and 19B are cross-sectional views showing a sound-insulatingcountermeasure against a DC fan of the eighth embodiment.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

The best mode for carrying out the present invention will be describedhereinafter, with reference to the accompanying drawings.

As described hereinafter, the present invention can be applied toarticles such as bedclothes, mats, chair seat cushions, chairs, clothingand shoes, all of which are used in a state directly contacting with abody or indirectly adjoining thereto via clothes. The embodiments of thepresent invention have such a structural feature common to theembodiments disclosed herein to form the cooling flow passages in asubstantially parallel and planar manner in the portion of such anarticle adjacent to the body, and utilize such a common cooling effectcommon to the embodiments, to cause the ambient air at a temperaturelower than the body temperature to flow through the cooling flowpassages substantially parallel to the body surface to thereby cool thebody. As such, the common cooling effect and

FIGS. 1A-1C are explanatory views of a cooling effect of the presentinvention. FIG. 1A is a schematic view showing a distribution oftemperatures by isothermal lines (broken lines) around a person stayingin a room inherently at a temperature of 28° C. (which is substantiallyequal to the temperature in a bedroom on a sleepless midsummer night).Assuming that the body temperature (assumed to be 36° C.) of the personA as a homoiothermal animal is substantially constant and no convectionexists within the air of the room, the temperatures of various locationsof the room are such that the temperature at the body surface of theperson A is 36° C. as the highest, and gradually approaches 28° C. asthe distance of a location from the person increases. To the contrary,FIG. 1B is a schematic view showing a distribution of temperatures byisothermal lines around a person staying in a room inherently at atemperature of 20° C.

Comparison of the depictions of FIG. 1A and FIG. 1B shows that thepitches between isothermal lines in FIG. 1B are denser than those inFIG. 1A. In other words, the temperature gradient in FIG. 1B is steeperthan that in FIG. 1A. This magnitude of temperature gradient affects theextent of heat release from the person and thus largely affects thetemperature feeling of the person, such that the larger the temperaturegradient, the more the extent of heat release, thereby providing acooler feeling to the person.

This is the point at which the present invention has aimed, and thusforms, at a location extremely adjacent to the body surface of a person,an air layer having a temperature equal to that in the room withoutlowering the temperature of the whole room, thereby forcibly increasingthe temperature gradient near the body surface to thereby increase theextent of heat release from the body, resulting in the feeling ofcoolness. FIG. 1C shows a distribution of temperatures where the personA is located in a room at a temperature of 28° C., and an air layerhaving a temperature of 28° C. equal to that of the room is formedextremely adjacently to the body of the person A. In this case, the roomtemperature is 28° C. identically with FIG. 1A. However, since theisothermal line of 28° C. exists extremely adjacently to the bodysurface of the person A, the temperature gradient in this case issubstantially equal to that of the FIG. 1B where the room temperature is20° C., insofar as concerned with the relationship between the bodysurface of the person A and the air layer of 28° C. Thus, if it ispermitted to form an air layer at the room temperature adjacently to thebody surface such as shown in FIG. 1C, the person A will be allowed tofeel coolness in the case of the room temperature of 20° C. though theactual room temperature is 28° C. It is of course difficult to actuallycause air to flow along the whole of the body surface as shown in FIG.1C. Nonetheless, if it is permitted to even partially form an air layerat the room temperature adjacently to the body surface, a coolnessfeeling will be obtained at such a location.

The cooling effect according to the present invention will be nowconsidered in more detail. To form an air layer at the room temperatureadjacently to the body surface, it is enough to form air flow passagesadjacently to the body surface, and to cause the air within the room toflow through the passages parallel to the body surface as shown in FIG.2. At this time, smaller amounts of air flowing per unit timedeteriorate the cooling effect, since the air is warmed before exitingthe flow passages. Further, heat from the body is not efficientlyreleased to the air flowing through the cooling flow passages, when theheat resistance (i.e., degree of difficulty in heat conduction) of thebody-contacting member of those constituting the cooling flow passagesis large.

It is now assumed such an ideal state that the rate of air flow throughthe cooling flow passages is infinitely large and the heat resistance ofthe body-contacting member is zero, and the air within a room at atemperature of 28° C. is caused to flow through the flow passages ofFIG. 2 under such an ideal state. Then, there is provided such anextreme cooling effect that heat is taken away from the inside of thebody so that the surface temperature of the body is brought to a fixedtemperature of 28° C. To approach such an ideal state, it is necessaryto constitute an air flow having a larger flow rate adjacently to thebody surface, and for this purpose, it is advantageous to sufficientlyreduce the thickness of the flow passages.

However, the reduced thickness of the cooling flow passages in order toincrease the flow rate results in an increased pressure for causing airto flow into the flow passages, mainly due to the viscosity of air. Inthis respect, FIG. 3 is a graph of the result of a preliminaryexperiment, showing a transition of a difference between an inletpressure and an outlet pressure when the inlet and outlet are providedsuch that: two aluminum plates of 500 mm length and 250 mm width aredisposed in parallel to each other, both ends in the longitudinaldirection are opened, both side ends are air-tightly closed, and air issupplied in the longitudinal direction at a flow rate of 1 liter/sec byan electromotive fan while changing the distance between the aluminumplates. In FIG. 3, the abscissa represents the distance d [mm] betweentwo aluminum plates, and the ordinate represents the pressure differencep [mmH₂O]. Here, the pressure unit [mmH₂O] has a relationship with 1 mmsuch that 1 mmH₂O=9.672×10⁻⁵ atm.

Since the amount of supplied air is fixed, the smaller the distance d,the larger the flow rate of air, as shown in FIG. 3. As the flow ratebecomes large, the resistance to which the flowing air is subjectedbecomes large due to the friction between the air having viscosity andthe inner wall of the passage. As such, when the thickness of thecooling flow passage is reduced in order to increase the flow rate, therequired pressure is rapidly increased as shown in FIG. 3. Pressuresexceeding a certain level require a specific fan, thereby resulting inan excessive cost, larger electric power consumption, and anon-negligible noise problem. Under these circumstances, it isimpractical to reduce the thickness of the cooling flow passage down toa value smaller than 2 mm. On the other hand, excessively increasedthickness of the cooling flow passage results in a deteriorated coolingeffect and an increased strength required for a spacer for forming thecooling flow passage. Thus, the practical upper limit of the thicknessis on the order of 20 to 30 mm, depending on the embodiments.

Further, the body-contacting side of the cooling flow passage is formedof a sheet-like member to thereby prevent the air in the flow passagefrom leaking onto the body surface. In this case, the sheet thickness islimited due to various conditions. Firstly, from the viewpoint to reducethe heat resistance and to bring the cooling flow passage closer to thebody, the sheet is preferably as thin as possible. On the other hand, incase that the present invention is applied to such as an underlyingfuton and a mat, the sheet-like member is preferably formed of a fabrichaving a certain thickness so as to mitigate a rugged feeling caused bysubspacers distributed to form the cooling flow passages. However, thesmaller thickness is preferable from the viewpoint of reduced heatresistance. Thus, the upper limit of the thickness of the sheet-likemember is on the order of 5 mm.

Meanwhile, when the sheet of the body-contacting side of the coolingflow passage is formed of fabric, the moisture content evaporated fromthe body permeates the sheet to reach the cooling flow passage side, andthe moisture content is carried away to the outside by the air flowingthrough the passage. Thus, there can be expected such a side effect thatan uncomfortable sweaty condition due to perspiration can be avoided.

There will be now described the relationship between the amount of airsupplied through the cooling flow passage, and the absorbed heat amount.The experiment conducted by the group including the present inventorconcerning an underlying futon showed that the averaged temperature ofexhausted air was approximately 30° C. when the air of a room at atemperature of 27° C. was supplied at a rate of 5 liter/sec through anunderlying futon of an air flow-through type on which a person waslying. The heat amount required to raise the temperature of 1 liter ofair by 1° C. is approximately 0.3 calories. Thus, when the air is keptsupplied for 1 hour under the above condition, the heat amount ofapproximately 16.2 kilocalories will be absorbed from the body. Further,also considering the evaporation heat to be absorbed from thesurroundings when perspiration evaporates, the heat absorbing effect ofthe aforementioned extent ensures a sufficiently comfortable sleep in aroom even at a temperature of 27° C. Moreover, when the amount of air tobe supplied is on the order of 5 liter/sec, an axial fan of about 60square (60 mm×60 mm) will do.

Next, there will be described general matters that are in common amongthe embodiments to be described later, concerning a spacer for formingthe cooling flow passage adjacently to the body surface. The spacer isrequired to form the cooling flow passage, and will have varyingstrength depending on the situation of a covering futon which will notreceive a relatively large load, an underlying futon which can bear alarge load so as to support a person's body, or a pillow to beclassified between them. In all of the present embodiments, there isused a planar spacer comprising a plate-like member and subspacersintegrally formed on the plate-like member. Such a planar spacer can beeconomically manufactured such as by injection molding of soft plasticor forming of rubber.

Each of FIG. 4A1 through FIG. 4F1 shows a view of a part of each ofvarious spacers to be used in the embodiments to be described later, bya plan view and a lateral view shown in the upper and lower sides ofeach figure, respectively. In the following, the planar spacers (a)through (f) shall be referred to as “a-type” through “f-type”,respectively.

In the Figures, the a-type planar spacer comprises a plate-like member10 a as a common member, and subspacers 11 a in the shape of elongatedrod-like projections formed on the plate-like member 10 a. Thus, thesubspacers 11 a and plate-like member 10 a can be integrally formed atthe same time. This aspect is common to each type described below.Although the planar spacer of the b-type has subspacers 11 b havingstructures the same as those of (a), the plate-like member 10 b on whichthe subspacers are formed is formed with a lot of holes 12 b. In thisway, the weight of the planar spacer is reduced, and the flexibilitythereof is also increased. In the c-type planar spacer, the subspacers11 c formed on the plate-like member 10 c are formed as plate-likeprojections, and arranged such that the longitudinal direction of thesubspacer coincides with the lateral direction of the spacer.

In the d-type planar spacer, the longitudinal direction of some of thesubspacers 11 d formed as plate-like projections is oriented in thelateral direction of the spacer, and the others are oriented in thelongitudinal direction. In this type of planar spacer, the respectiveplate-like subspacers are formed with holes 13 d as shown in theassociated lower figure. In this way, the flow of air is improved, andthe weight reduction and the flexibility improvement are achieved. Alsoin the e-type planar spacer, the longitudinal direction of some of thesubspacers 11 e, formed as plate-like projections, is oriented in thelateral direction of the spacer, and the others are oriented in thelongitudinal direction, and the respective subspacers 11 e are providedwith associated holes 13 e. Further, a lot of holes 12 e are providedbetween subspacers. In this way, the weight of the planar spacer isfurther reduced, and its flexibility is increased. The f-type planarspacer has a structure different from those of the a-type through e-typewhere the subspacers are arranged in a certain pattern on the plate-likemember. Namely, the f-type spacer has a structure provided with upperlongitudinal rails 14 f and lower lateral rails 15 f, as well as shortrod-like members 16 f provided at intersections between the upper andlower rails 14 f and 15 f to interconnect them. This f-type has such afeature that the inherent function is maintained even when the spacer isturned upside down. Further, it is typical for the planar spacers of thea-type through e-type where the subspacers are arranged on theplate-like member, to be arranged on the plate-like member such as 10 aat an underside, and the human body is placed on the tip ends of theprojections. However, concerning the planar spacers of the b-type ande-type, the planar spacers can be used in an upside-down reversedmanner, since the plate-like member such as 10 b or 10 e is formed withthe large holes 12 b or 12 e.

Among the aforementioned respective types of planar spacers, thoseplanar spacers of the a-type, b-type and f-type are suitable forembodiments where a smaller load is applied. To the contrary, the planarspacers of the c-type, d-type and e-type are capable of bearing arelatively large load. The most flexible and lightest one is the f-type,and the b-type and e-type will follow it. It is preferable to determinewhich type of spacer is to be used correspondingly to an appliedembodiment, in view of the aforementioned characteristics.

The planar spacer to be used need not be integral as a whole, and such asituation where the planar spacer is divided into a plurality of piecesis of course included within the technical scope of the presentinvention. Further, in case of usage such as for an underlying futon, itis possible to interpose a mesh-like material between thebody-contacting side sheet and the subspacers so as to effectivelyrestrict the rugged feeling caused by the subspacers.

In each of the aforementioned planar spacers, the design as to thearrangement density of subspacers and the distances between subspacersshall be determined such as in view of the strength of material to beused, the shape of the subspacers, and the applicability of embodiment.The important point is to reduce the viscous resistance when the flowingair strikes the subspacers. Larger viscous resistances require a largesized fan for generating a larger pressure, thereby causing a problem ofincreased power consumption and noise occurrence. Experiment showed aconsiderable increase in viscous resistance when the distances betweenthe subspacers are smaller than 3 mm and the amount of blown air withina practical range is supplied. Thus, such distances between subspacersand arrangement thereof are desirably designed so that any location onthe planar spacer always has a portion having a gap larger than 2 mm asviewed from such a location, and air is allowed to flow out through thegap.

There will be described hereinafter a “flow connecting passage”. Theinstalling position of a fan is either of the inlet side or the outletside of the cooling flow passage (the fan is rotated in a direction todraw the ambient air and blow it toward the cooling flow passage in caseof installation at the inlet side, and rotated in another direction todraw the air from the cooling flow passage and blow it toward thesurroundings in case of installation at the outlet side). In adopting afan, and particularly when the fan is to be used for an object having alarger surface area such as an underlying futon, a covering futon or amat, an axial fan is desirably adopted in view of the subjects of theamount of blown air, power consumption and noise. From an economicviewpoint, it is desirable to provide a single fan having sufficientpower rather than a plurality of small fans having smaller amounts ofpower, or to restrict the number of fans to a few. In that case, thediameter of the fan notably exceeds the thickness of the cooling flowpassage. To the contrary, the width of the cooling flow passage isnotably larger than the diameter of the fan. Thus, there is required aspace for smoothly connecting the fan side and the cooling flow passageside, therebetween. This space is herein referred to as a “flowconnecting passage”.

FIGS. 5A1 through 5D2 show various configurations of the flow-connectingportion in the upper-side plan views and lower-side lateralcross-sectional views, respectively. In these Figures, the arrowsindicate the flowing manner of air. In FIGS. 5A1 and 5A2, a flowconnecting passage 20 a is provided at the left side of a cooling flowpassage 21 a. Fan 22 a provided at the lower end portion of the flowconnecting passage 20 a is rotated in a direction to suck air from thesurroundings and to feed the air toward the flow connecting passage 20a. The flow direction of the air is changed by 90 degrees at a portionconnecting the flow connecting passage and the cooling flow passage, sothat the air flows from the left toward the right in the cooling flowpassage 21 b. In FIGS. 5B1 and 5B2, a fan 22 b is provided at the centerof the flow connecting passage 20 b provided at the left side of thecooling flow passage 21 b. This fan 22 b is rotated in a direction tosuck air from the cooling flow passage 21 b and flow connecting passage20 b, and to discharge the air outwardly.

In FIGS. 5C1 and 5C2, a flow connecting passage 20 c is provided at theleft side of a cooling flow passage 21 c. Flow connecting passage 20 chas a width increasing from the fan 22 c toward the cooling flow passage21 c. FIGS. 5D1 and 5D2 show an example where a fan 22 a is provided atthe center of a cooling flow passage 21 d. As shown in FIGS. 5D1 and5D2, the fan 22 d may be provided at a bottom portion at the center ofthe cooling flow passage or at a bottom portion closer to the centerfrom the end portion, when the diameter of the fan 22 d is not so largeas compared to that of the thickness of the passage 21 d. The rotationaldirection of the fan in this case is to suck air from the cooling flowpassage and to discharge it downwardly. In the configuration as shown inFIGS. 5D1 and 5D2, those portions around the fan 22 d can be regarded asa flow connecting passage 20 d.

There will be now described a relationship between a blown air volumeand a static pressure, in a fan for blowing the ambient air through thecooling flow passage. FIG. 6 shows a graph having an abscissarepresenting a blown air volume at a unit of m³/min and an ordinaterepresenting a static pressure at a unit of mmH₂O, concerning anelectromotive fan 109P0412H302 (40 square, and 28 mm thickness)manufactured by SANYO DENKI. Note, the blown air volume of 0.3 m³/minbased on the abscissa corresponds to a blown air volume of 5 liter/sec.

As shown in FIG. 6, the higher the voltage applied to the fan, thelarger the static pressure and the blown air volume. However, increasedvoltage possibly leads to a proportionally higher noise level, therebyhindering a calm sleep in case of usage such as in bedclothes. Thus, incase of usage such as in bedclothes and mat, the supplied voltage andthe static pressure are desirably restricted to levels of 12 V and 3mmH₂O or less, respectively. Further, in case of usage in articles suchas clothes, shoes, seat cushion, and chair other than the above, thestatic pressure is desirably 5 mmH₂O or less.

Note, the expression “pressure of fan” used herein shall mean a pressuredifference between the ambient pressure in a room and a pressure withina flow connecting passage.

There will be described hereinafter detailed embodiments in which thepresent invention is applied to various concrete articles.

Embodiment 1

FIGS. 7A and 7B are views showing an underlying futon according to afirst embodiment of the present invention applied to cooling bedclothes.FIG. 7A is a plan view and FIG. 7B is a left side view of the coolingbedclothes. The cooling bedclothes of this embodiment have a structurecomprising cooling flow passages, or a collective cooling flow passage31 placed on a cushion 30. As shown in FIG. 7A, a flow connectingpassage 32 is provided at the right side of a supine person, and a fan33 of 60 square is provided at the end of the flow connecting passage 32adjacent to the feet of the person. The cooling flow passage 31 has alateral side constituting an air inlet 34 a at which the flow connectingpassage 32 is provided (i.e., the right side of the lying person), andthe other lateral side constituting an air outlet 34 b. As shown in FIG.7B, the air outlet 34 b is provided to face downwardly at the side ofthe cushion. This is to avoid a situation where the air outlet is closedsuch as by a covering futon. The fan 33 is provided to come close to thefeet of the lying person, in view of a noise problem. When the presentinvention is to be applied to bedclothes such as in this embodiment, itis desirable to adopt an axial fan such as in view of a smaller noise,ensurance of required blown air volume, and reduction of air leakagefrom a fabric sheet.

Connected to the fan 33 is a controlling part 36 via cord 35. Thiscontrolling part 36 is provided with a switchable volume 37 and a timer38. The switchable volume 37 is provided for switching on/off theoperation of the fan, and for adjusting a blown air volume by varying arotational speed of the fan. The timer 38 may be arbitrarily used by thelying person, or may be arranged such that the fan 33 is automaticallystopped or the amount of blown air thereof is automatically reducedafter an operation over a predetermined period of time of the fan 33, tothereby avoid overcooling.

In this embodiment, the c-type of planar spacer of FIGS. 4C1 and 4C2 isadopted as the cooling flow passage 31. In this case, the longitudinaldirection of the subspacers 11 c is arranged in the widthwise directionof the underlying futon, in view of the air-flow direction. The upperside of this spacer is covered by a fabric or cloth 39, and the headside and foot side of the fabric 39 are bonded to the correspondingsides of the planar spacer. In this way, the ambient air drawn by thefan 33 flows through the flow connecting passage 32, enters the coolingflow passage 31, and thereafter flows from the left side toward theright side of the lying person. At this time, there is formed an airlayer having a temperature that is the same as that of the ambient airat the vicinity of the lying person's back, thereby increasing thetemperature gradient at this portion so that the lying person will feelcoolness.

Meanwhile, even when a high-density fabric (woven with about 300 threadsper 1 cm) is adopted as the fabric 39, its overall surface area is largeso that excessively high pressures at the portion just after the fan 33,i.e., at the flow connecting passage 32, lead to a problem ofsubstantial leakage of air on its way. Further, excessively highpressures also lead to a considerable noise problem. As such, the largerthickness of the cooling flow passage 31 is advantageous so as to ensurea sufficient blown air volume on the order of 5 liter/sec even at alower pressure. For example, when the thickness of the cooling flowpassage is on the order of 10 mm to 15 mm, there can be ensured asufficient amount of blown air at a lower pressure. Only, the thicknessof the cooling flow passage 31 may be reduced down to the order of 3 mm,such as when the blown air volume is reduced to a certain extent, thenoise countermeasure is enhanced, or a fabric having a higher threaddensity, resistant to higher pressures, is adopted. Even when thethickness of the cooling flow passage 31 is reduced in such a way, thepressure within the flow connecting passage just after the fan 33 has alimit of 5 mmH₂O.

Embodiment 2

FIGS. 8A and 8B are views showing a chair seat cushion according to asecond embodiment of the present invention applied to a cooling seatcushion. FIG. 8A is a plan view and FIG. 8B is a center cross-sectionalview of the cooling seat cushion. FIG. 9 is a view showing the chairseat cushion according to the second embodiment of the present inventionapplied to the cooling seat cushion.

Cooling seat cushion 40 of this embodiment is used in a manner placed ona chair 41 as shown in FIG. 9. The cooling seat cushion can be of courseplaced such as on a bench or sofa. The cooling seat cushion 40 of thisembodiment basically constituted of two portions, i.e., a main portion42 and a seat 43. The main portion 42 comprises a square spacer portion44 of 400 mm length and 400 mm width, and a controlling part 46 providedat the rear side of the spacer portion 44. The spacer portion 44 has atop side provided with many projected subspacers. The main portion 42comprising the spacer portion 44 and controlling part 46 is manufacturedintegrally by injection molding soft plastic. In view of the usage ofthe cushion to be placed on a chair, its entire size is limited to alength of approximately 500 mm and a width of approximately 500 mm.

Here, the e-type of FIGS. 4E1 and 4E2 is adopted as the configuration ofthe spacer portion 44. Reduced thickness of the cooling flow passageleads to an increased flow rate to thereby enhance a cooling effect.However, extreme reduction is not practical in view of consumption of abattery, so that the lower limit of the cooling flow passage is on theorder of 2 mm.

The seat 43 is in the shape of bag to cover the whole of the spacerportion 44 except the controlling part 46. Only, the right side 43 a inFIGS. 8A and 8B is left open to thereby suck air. Any material can beused for the seat 43 if water vapor readily permeates through it, suchas the aforementioned high-density fabric or a general fabric.

The controlling part 46 is provided with a DC fan 47 of 40 square, aswitch 48, and a battery 49. Although the battery 49 may be a normal drycell, but it is preferably a rechargeable secondary battery such that itis recharged by the primary power source while the cooling seat cushionis not used. Pressure switch 50 is provided near the center of the mainportion 42. The switch 48 and pressure switch 50 are connected in seriessuch that the power from the battery is supplied to the DC fan 47 whenboth switches are turned on. The portion, where the controlling part 46is provided, also acts as a flow connecting passage between the DC fan47 and the cooling flow passage.

When the cooling seat cushion 40 is to be used, it is placed such thatthe controlling part 46 is brought to the rear portion (at the backrestside) as shown in FIG. 9. Normally, the blowing outlet of the DC fan 47is placed to face downwardly. However, the cooling seat cushion may beused in an upside-down manner, depending on the structure of anapplicable chair. When a person sits on the chair 41 in the abovecondition, the sensor such as pressure switch 50 for detecting theseating is turned on. When the switch 48 is further turned on, the DCfan 47 rotates in a direction to suck the ambient air through the rightside 43 a of the seat 43. The air sucked through the side 43a flowsthrough the cooling flow passage formed by the spacer portion 44, and isthen exhausted downwardly by the DC fan 47. The amount of air to beflown may be on the order of 1 liter/sec, which can be provided by asmall fan such as 40 square.

When a person sits on the chair, the ambient air at a temperature lowerthan the body temperature is caused to flow just below the buttocks tothereby increase the temperature gradient at the buttocks of the sittingperson. Thus, even when the person keeps sitting for a long time, theportion of the seat cushion contacting the buttocks will be never warmedby the body temperature, resulting in comfortable feeling. Since thee-type of spacer having many holes at the bottom plate has been used inthis embodiment, a sufficient cooling effect can be obtained even whenthe cooling seat cushion is used in an upside down manner.

Embodiment 3

FIGS. 10A and 10B are views showing a mat such as usable on a sofa orfloor according to a third embodiment of the present invention appliedto a cooling mat. FIG. 10A is a plan view and FIG. 10B is across-sectional view of the cooling mat, and FIG. 11 is a view showingwhich portion of a body is cooled by the mat.

Cooling mat of this embodiment is used in a manner to mainly cool theupper half of the body when a person rests such as on a floor or sofa asshown in FIG. 11. The basic structure of the cooling mat of thisembodiment basically comprises two portions, i.e., a main portion 62 anda seat 63, similarly to the cooling seat cushion according to theEmbodiment 2. The main portion 62 comprises a rectangular spacer portion64 of 900 mm length and 450 mm width, many subspacers provided on thetop side of the spacer portion 64, and a controlling part 66 provided atthe rear side of the spacer portion 64. These portions are integrallymanufactured by injection molding soft plastic.

As the spacer portion 64, the e-type of FIGS. 4E1 and 4E2 is adopted.The thickness of the cooling flow passage is in a range between 2 mm to30 mm from the same reason with the aforementioned cooling seat cushion,and approximately 6 mm is suitable.

The seat 63 is in the shape of bag to cover the whole of the spacerportion 64 except the controlling part 66. Only, the right side in FIGS.10A and 10B is left open to thereby suck air. Any material can be usedfor the seat 63 if water vapor readily permeates through it, such as theaforementioned high-density fabric or a general fabric.

The controlling part 66 is provided with a fan 67 of 50 square, aswitchable volume 68, a plug 69 to be connected to the primary powersource, and a timer 70. The controlling part 66 also acts as a flowconnecting passage between the fan 67 and the cooling flow passage. Thetimer 70 may be arbitrarily used by the lying person, or may be arrangedsuch that the fan 33 is automatically stopped or the amount of blown airthereof is automatically reduced after an operation over a predeterminedperiod of time of the fan, to thereby avoid overcooling.

When the cooling mat is to be used, it is placed under the upper half ofthe body on a floor or on a sofa, as shown in FIG. 11. Normally, theblowing outlet of the fan 67 is placed to face upwardly. However, thecooling mat may be used in an upside-down manner, when used such as on abed. When the switchable volume 68 is turned on, the fan 67 rotates in adirection to suck the ambient air through the right side of the seat 63.The air sucked through the side flows through the cooling flow passageformed by the spacer portion 64, and is then exhausted upwardly by thefan 67. The amount of air to be flown may be on the order of 3liter/sec, which can be sufficiently conducted by a small fan such as 50square.

When a person lies on the cooling mat, the ambient air at a temperaturelower than the body temperature is caused to flow such as just below theback and belly of the person to thereby increase the temperaturegradient near the back and belly. Thus, even when the person keeps lyingfor a long time, the mat will be never warmed by the body temperature,resulting in comfortable feeling. Since the e-type of spacer having manyholes at the bottom plate has been used in this embodiment, a sufficientcooling effect can be obtained even when the cooling mat is used in anupside down manner.

Embodiment 4

FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view of a chair according to a fourthembodiment of the present invention applied to a cooling chair, and FIG.13 is a rear view of the cooling chair.

As shown in FIG. 12, the cooling chair of this embodiment includes acooling flow passage 82 formed within a seat portion 80 and within abackrest 81. At the area where the seat portion 80 and backrest 81 areinterconnected, there is provided a DC fan 83 of 50 square adapted torotate in a direction to outwardly discharge the air within the portions80, 81. The blown air volume is suitably on the order of 2 liter/secunder a normal operating state. Provided at the front bottom portion ofthe seat portion 80 is an air inlet 84, and so is an inlet 85 at theupper rear portion of the backrest 81. The provision of the air inlet 84at the front bottom portion of the seat portion 80 is to avoid occlusionof the air inlet 84 such as by feet and/or clothes.

The cooling flow passage 82 is provided on the cushions for the seatportion 80 and backrest 81, so that a person sitting on the chair willfeel suitable elasticity. In the cooling chair of this embodiment, thec-type of spacer in FIGS. 4C1 and 4C2 is adopted to bear the load on theorder of a body weight of a sitting person. Excessively reducedthickness of the cooling flow passage 82 leads to an increased pressureresulting in a larger amount of consumption of a battery 86. Thus,approximately 2 mm is the limit of the thickness. Further, thicknessesof the cooling flow passage exceeding 30 mm are impractical, in view ofthe cooling principle of this method. Practically, approximately 5 mm issuitable.

The battery 86 for energizing the DC fan 83 is provided within thebackrest 81 at the rear side of the seat portion 80. This battery 86 canbe charged from the primary power source while the chair is not used, bya battery charger 88 of a type for inserting a plug into a jack 87. Atthe center of the seat portion 80, there is provided a pressure switch90 which is turned on when a person sits thereon. Switchable volume 89provided at the rear side of the seat portion 80 is connected in seriesto the pressure switch. When the switchable volume 89 is turned on wherethe pressure switch 90 has been turned on by a sitting person thereon,the DC fan 83 is rotated. The revolution speed of this fan can bechanged by rotating the switchable volume 89 to thereby adjust the blownair volume.

When a person sits on the cooling chair of this embodiment, the ambientair at a temperature lower than the body temperature is caused to flowsuch as just below the back and buttocks of the person to therebyincrease the temperature gradient near the back and buttocks. Thus, evenwhen the person keeps sitting for a long time, the portion of thecooling chair contacting the buttocks and back will be never warmed bythe body temperature, resulting in comfortable feeling.

Embodiment 5

FIG. 14 is a perspective view of a piece of clothing in a worn stateaccording to a fifth embodiment of the present invention applied tocooling clothes. As shown in FIG. 14, the cooling clothing 101 of thisembodiment comprises a vest type main portion 110, and a controllingpart 111 connected to the main portion 110 via cable 112. The mainportion 110 can be worn in a manner similarly to a normal vest, suchthat a front fastener 132 of the main portion is opened, the arms of aperson are sequentially passed through the sleeves, and then thefastener 132 is zipped up.

The main portion 110 is provided with front two and rear two pieces,totally four pieces, of cooling sheets 120 a, 120 b, 120 c and 120 d(rear cooling sheets 120 c and 120 d are omitted in the drawing). Thesecooling sheets are independent from one another. The provision ofmultiple cooling sheets is to facilitate the formation of the spacer.Should the whole of the clothing be formed of a single cooling sheet, itis difficult and impractical to form a flexible spacer well fitting to abody.

Those portions of the main portion 110 except the cooling sheets 120 athrough 120 d are formed of an elastic fabric such as a material ofpolyurethane called Spandex. By sewingly connect this elastic fabric andfour pieces of cooling sheets 120 a through 120 d, the cooling clothing101 of the vest type is completed. In this case, the backsides of thecooling sheets 120 can be closely contacted with the wearer, byselecting a smaller size of the cooling clothing 101 so that the elasticfabric is slightly expanded upon wearing.

Each of the four pieces of cooling sheets 120 a through 120 d isprovided with a DC fan 121 at the upper portion thereof and an air inlet122 at the lower portion thereof. Further, a cooling flow passage isformed between the air inlet 122 and the DC fan 121. The DC fan 121rotates in a direction to discharge air outwardly. Namely, rotation ofthe DC fan 121 causes air to be sucked via air inlet 122, to raisethrough the cooling flow passage, and then to be discharged by the DCfan 121. Each DC fan 121 is attached to the corresponding cooling sheetsuch as by a magic tape detachably. This allows the DC fan 121 to bereadily removed such as upon washing the cooling clothes, resulting inconvenience.

The controlling part 111 is provided with a battery 125 and a switchablevolume 126. The battery 125 may be a normal dry cell or a rechargeablesecondary battery. The role of the switchable volume 126 is identicalwith those in the aforementioned embodiments.

In this embodiment, the b-type of spacer is adopted as one for formingthe cooling flow passage. This is because the spacer will not bear alarger load in case of clothes, so that a lighter one is advantageous.In this configuration, the b-type of planar spacer of FIGS. 4B1 and 4B2is manufactured by injection molding a thermoplastic elastomer. Bycovering this spacer by an upper fabric, the cooling flow passage isformed. Thermoplastic elastomers have rubber-like characteristics afterformation, thus have sufficient elasticity. In view of the consumptionof the battery 125, the thickness of the cooling flow passage is limitedto approximately 2 mm at the thinnest.

By wearing the cooling clothing 101 of this embodiment and turning onthe switchable volume 126 to thereby rotate the DC fan 121, air issucked into the air inlet 122 and raises through the cooling flowpassage. At this time, an air layer having a temperature same with thatof the ambient air is formed adjacently to the body surface, therebyincreasing the temperature gradient adjacent to the body surface. Thus,even when the ambient temperature is on the order of 30° C., the wearerwill feel coolness, resulting in comfortable feeling.

Embodiment 6

FIG. 15 is a cross-sectional view of one of a pair of shoes according toa sixth embodiment of the present invention applied to cooling shoes. Asshown in FIG. 15, cooling shoe 140 of this embodiment is provided with acooling flow passage 141 at the shoe bottom portion, an air inlet 142 atthe toe portion, an air outlet 143 at the heel portion, and a DC fan 144rotated in a direction for discharging air backwardly of the heel. Atthe heel portion, there is provided a battery 145 for energizing the DCfan 144. This battery 145 may be a normal dry cell or a rechargeablesecondary battery.

The cooling shoe 140 of this embodiment is provided with a foot sensor146 at a bottom portion within the shoe. This sensor constitutes aswitch which is turned on by entrance of foot and turned off bywithdrawal of foot. Thus, waste of power consumption during disuse ofthe shoe is avoided. As the foot sensor 146, such as a pressure switchmay be adopted, but any other type of sensor may be adopted insofar asit can detect the used state of the shoe.

Wearing the cooling shoe 140 of this embodiment causes the foot sensor146 to be turned on to thereby rotate the DC fan 144. Then, air issucked through the air inlet 142, flows leftwardly through the coolingflow passage 141. At this time, an air layer having a temperature samewith that of the ambient air is formed adjacently to the surface of thefoot sole, thereby increasing the temperature gradient at this portion.Thus, even during midsummer, the interior of the shoes never becomesweaty, thereby providing comfortable feeling.

Embodiment 7

FIG. 16 is a plan view of a covering futon according to a seventhembodiment of the present invention applied to cooling bedclothes, andFIG. 17 is a view showing a structure of a spacer of the seventhembodiment. As shown in FIG. 16, there are provided a flow connectingpassage 150 at the right side of a supine person and an axial fan 151 of60 square at the foot end of the passage 150. That side (right side ofthe supine person) of the cooling flow passage 152 which is providedwith the flow connecting passage 150 acts as an air inlet, and theopposite side of the passage 152 acts as an air outlet. The fan 151 isarranged at the foot side of the lying person, in view of a noiseproblem. The total size of the cooling flow passage 152 and flowconnecting passage 150 includes such as a length of 1,800 mm and a widthof 1,200 mm.

As shown in FIG. 17, there is adopted a planar spacer obtained byslightly modifying the b-type one of FIGS. 4B1 and 4B2, as the planarspacer in this embodiment. This planar spacer is further lightened, byrectangular holes instead of circular ones. The cooling flow passage 152is formed by covering the whole of the planar spacer by a bag-likefabric. The air drawn from the surroundings by the fan 151 into thecooling flow passage 152 flows laterally within the cooling flow passage152, and finally exits from the outlet at the opposite side of thepassage 152. In this way, an air layer having a temperature same withthat of the ambient air is formed adjacently to the body surface tothereby increase the temperature gradient there, resulting incomfortable feeling even at a hot night.

As the bag-like fabric for forming the cooling flow passage 152, it isdesirable to adopt the aforementioned high-density fabric. In thisrespect, even when the high-density fabric is adopted, its overallsurface area is large so that excessively higher pressures at theportion just after the fan 151, i.e., at the flow connecting passage 150lead to a problem of substantial leakage of air on its way. Further,excessively higher pressures also lead to a considerable noise problem.As such, the larger thickness of the cooling flow passage 152 isadvantageous so as to ensure a sufficient blown air volume on the orderof 5 liter/sec even at a lower pressure. For example, when the thicknessof the cooling flow passage is on the order of 10 mm to 15 mm, there canbe ensured a sufficient amount of blown air at a lower pressure. Only,the thickness of the cooling flow passage 152 may be reduced down to theorder of 3 mm, such as when the blown air volume is reduced to a certainextent, the noise countermeasure for the fan 151 is enhanced, or afabric having a higher thread density resistant to higher pressures isadopted. Even when the thickness of the cooling flow passage 152 isreduced in such a way, the pressure just after the fan 151 has a limitof 5 mmH₂O.

Also in this embodiment, it is desirable to provide a timer to avoidovercooling of a lying person. Such a timer may be arbitrarily used bythe lying person, or may be arranged such that the fan is automaticallystopped or the amount of blown air thereof is automatically reducedafter an operation over a predetermined period of time of the fan.

Embodiment 8

FIGS. 18A and 18B are views showing a pillow according to an eighthembodiment of the present invention applied to cooling bedclothes,wherein FIG. 18A is a cross-sectional view and FIG. 18B is a plan viewthereof. Further, FIG. 19 is a cross-sectional view showing asound-insulating countermeasure for a DC fan of the eighth embodiment.

The cooling bedclothes of this embodiment has a structure comprising acooling flow passage 161 placed on a cushion 160. There is provided aflow connecting passage 162 at the upper portion of FIG. 18B (the leftportion of FIG. 18A)), and a DC fan 163 of 50 square is provided at thecenter portion of the passage 162. This DC fan 163 is an axial fan,which rotates in a direction to suck air through the underside of thefan and feeds the air to the flow connecting passage 162 and coolingflow passage 161, and finally discharges the air at the opposite side ofthe passage 161.

In this embodiment, the d-type of planar spacer in FIGS. 4D1 and 4D2 isadopted as the spacer for forming the cooling flow passage 161. Thisplanar spacer is manufactured by injection molding soft polyethylene.

As shown in FIG. 18B, there is provided a jack 164 for insertion of a DCadapter at the lateral portion of the pillow, and the DC fan 163 issupplied with power from the jack. Similarly, a switchable volume 165 isprovided at the lateral portion of the pillow. The switchable volume 165serves to turn on/off the operation of the fan, and to vary therotational speed thereof to thereby adjust the blown air volume.

There will be described a noise countermeasure for the DC fan 163, withreference to FIGS. 19A and 19B. Since pillows are used during sleep,even a slight vibratory sound will hinder a calm sleep. Thus, it iscritical to restrict the vibratory sound of the fan due to its rotation,down to a level which will never hinder a calm sleep. As such, in thisembodiment, there is wound a weight 170 formed of metal such as ironaround the DC fan 163 as shown in FIG. 17. In this way, the amplitude ofany vibration is reduced. Further, the DC fan 163 wound with the weight170 is fitted in the flow connecting passage 162 via gel-like absorbingmaterial 171. This results in a state substantially free of noise evenduring the rotation of the DC fan 163.

When the pillow according to the cooling bedclothes of this embodimentis used to place thereon a head of a lying person and the switchablevolume 165 is turned on, the DC fan 163 is rotated. This causes air tobe sucked into the air inlet at the lower side of the DC fan 163, and toflow through the flow connecting passage 162 and cooling flow passage161 rightwardly in FIG. 18A. At this time, an air layer having atemperature same with that of the ambient air is formed adjacently tothe surface of the person's head, to thereby increase the temperaturegradient at this portion. Thus, there is provided a calm sleep evenduring midsummer time.

According to the cooling bedclothes, cooling seat cushion, cooling mat,cooling chair, cooling clothing and cooling shoes of the presentinvention as described above, there is formed, at a location extremelyadjacent to the body surface of a person, an air layer having atemperature equal to that in the room without lowering the temperatureof the whole room, thereby forcibly increasing the temperature gradientnear the body surface to thereby increase the extent of heat releasefrom the body. Thus, any devices for cooling air are omitted to therebyreduce cost, without any uncomfortable feeling due to direct blowing ofcooled air, thereby resulting in feeling of natural coolness.

Industrial Applicability

As described above, the present invention utilizes such a cooling effectto form the cooling flow passages in a substantially parallel and planarmanner at the portion of an article adjacent to the body, and causes theambient air at a temperature lower than the body temperature to flowthrough the cooling flow passages substantially patallel to the bodysurface to thereby cool the body. Thus, the present invention can beutilized in any articles such as bedclothes, mat, chair seat cushion,chair, clothing and shoes to which the cooling effect can be applied.

What is claimed is:
 1. A cooling seat cushion usable on a seat portion,said cooling seat cushion comprising: cooling flow passages formed in asubstantially parallel and planar manner adjacent to a portion of saidcooling seat cushion that contacts a body of a person, said cooling flowpassages being formed from a spacer and a water-vapor permeablesheet-like material arranged between said spacer and said body; an inletfor drawing air into said cooling flow passages; an outlet fordischarging the air from said cooling flow passages into the atmosphere;an electromotive fan provided at at least one of said inlet and outlet;a battery provided at a portion of said cooling seat cushion, forenergizing said electromotive fan; and a flow connecting passageprovided between said electromotive fan and said cooling flow passages,to thereby smoothly connect said electromotive fan and said cooling flowpassages, said electromotive fan and cooling flow passages havingdifferent sizes; whereby the ambient air at a temperature lower than thebody temperature is caused by said electromotive fan to flow throughsaid cooling flow passages substantially parallelly to the body surfaceso as to increase the temperature gradient between the body and saidcooling flow passages in order to release the heat emitted from the bodyto thereby cool the body, and in order to discharge water vapor that haspermeated through said sheet-like material into the atmosphere; whereinsaid sheet-like material has a thickness of 5 mm or less; wherein astatic pressure caused by said electromotive fan is 5 mmH₂O or less; andwherein said spacer is formed from a common member and a plurality ofphysically contiguous subspacers formed on said common member integrallywith the same, said subspacers being configured such that said coolingflow passages have a thickness of 2 mm to 30 mm.
 2. The cooling seatcushion of claim 1, further comprising a pressure switch for sensingseating of the person and for actuating said electromotive fan upondetecting the seating of the person.